I recently got back from the Das Boot cruise, which went from Stockholm to Tallinn, Estonia. The main event onboard was of course the live gigs by Infected Mushroom, VNV Nation, Spetsnaz, Project Rotten, Autodafeh, Aesthetic Perfection, Spark, SPOCK, Kopfer Kat and more bands.
You know it’s summer when you arrive at Arvikafestivalen, the premier choice for great music. The tropical heat and sun scorched my pale skin while making the black clothes quite hot, and just like last year there were moments of thunder rain inferno.
Saying that you listen to Depeche Mode is like saying that you listen to Beatles. Even though I barely listen to Depeche these days, they’ve meant a great deal to me for over 20 years. My first experience of Depeche was the vinyl records of “Speak & Spell” and “Construction Time Again” in the early eighties. Their first collection “The Singles 81-85” was released in 1985 and I was hooked for good.
The latest issue of Bon magazine features a homage to Depeche Mode, where 15 of the world’s leading creators have been asked to interpret a song by the band, resulting in 50 pages of black fashion. Even though the 200 pages in total mostly consists of commercial advertising it’s still quite entertaining.
The release party for the new album “Playing the angel” by Depeche Mode was upon us and the stage was set for the all-star tribute band tentatively called 101, consisting of Robert from Elegant Machinery, Alexander from SPOCK (replacing Jarmo from Mr Jones Machine), Johan from Diskodiktator and Magnus from Top Gun (yes, brother of Jay-Jay).
Here we go again. Each time Depeche Mode releases a new album I go on a rant about either the cover art or the first single, both of which can be quite awful. It’s been quiet since the release of Exciter five years ago, but as the new album cover for eagerly awaited Playing The Angel was released today I cannot let it pass. As some would put it, the sweetest perfection.
